


bloom

by ghstwrtr



Category: VIXX
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe, Developing Friendships, Ending Relationship, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Knotting, Lee Jaehwan | Ken-centric, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Minor Cha Hakyeon | N/Jung Taekwoon | Leo, Misunderstandings, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Relationship(s), Self-Esteem Issues, Texting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-17
Updated: 2018-06-06
Packaged: 2019-04-24 08:28:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14351733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghstwrtr/pseuds/ghstwrtr
Summary: Jaehwan uncurls his fingers from where they'd been curled tight around his phone and looks down, taking in a deep breath  to steady himself against the tenseness that an Alpha's focus brings on him, and only looks up when he feels like himself again.





	1. Chapter 1

Jaehwan is used to getting stared at. Sometimes, when he's toeing the line between self-awareness and paranoia right before sleep, he can count all the ways that he's allowed the discomfort of it to shape his actions into defenses to attacks that almost never come.

"You alright?" Hongbin asks, hand touching his arm and making him jump, Jaehwan's eyes widening and meeting his from where they'd been focused on the grain of the wooden table. 

"Yeah" He says, voice rough.

Hongbin raises an eyebrow, and then pointedly looks down to Jaehwan's plate, still half-full. 

"If you want to go home, hyung…" Hongbin trails off, looking around their table and then lowering his voice, leaning in a bit closer than appropriate. "I can go with you"

In any other situation, the suggestion would be indecent. An unmated beta offering to take an unmated omega home, both alone in the darkness of 1am. 

"It's ok" Jaehwan mumbles, turning his arm under Hongbin's lax grip and giving him a shaky smile when Hongbin takes his hand away. "I'm just not hungry, that's all"

Hongbin gives him one last measuring look before shaking himself and turning back to his own food, reentering Wonshik and Sanghyuk's conversation as if he had never left.

Their sitting arrangement is such that Jaehwan is pressed between Hongbin and the wall. They had arrived earlier than the planned meeting time just for Jaehwan's peace of mind, his almost irrational fear of having to sit away from Hongbin and next to a stranger instead. Of course, he hadn't accounted for the seat in front of him. As such, he's to the wall and Hongbin beside him, then Sanghyuk at the end of their side of the table. Wonshik in front of Sanghyuk, then Taekwoon beside him and finally Hakyeon, also with his side pressed to the wall, seemingly unbothered by the way Taekwoon is leaning his dark head on Hakyeon's shoulder. The worst of it all, though, is that Hakyeon keeps looking at Jaehwan, trying to meet his eyes, even with Taekwoon's omega scent smelling ripe, so close to heat that it almost tastes oversweet. 

"You can just offer" Taekwoon says, his soft voice loud despite his slurred speech. 

Jaehwan can't help but to look, then, startling when his eyes meet Hakyeon's. 

"Leave it be, Woonie" Hakyeon says, gaze still locked on Jaehwan's despite how he's clearly not addressing him. 

"Stupid" Taekwoon grumbles, dislodging himself from Hakyeon's shoulder with difficulty, only to bring his open hand to slap at Hakyeon's chest. "You're stupid, Hakyeon"

Hakyeon turns to look at Taekwoon, and Jaehwan just watches, heart racing. He knows Hakyeon is alpha, and Taekwoon might be close to heat, but that has never saved an omega from an alpha's wrath. He wants to move, to do something to help Taekwoon, but he's frozen in place.

"That's enough, isn't it?" Hakyeon asks, voice even, and Jaehwan thinks that this is where he'll raise his hand and bring it down on Taekwoon's face, or something, but instead Hakyeon just pushes Taekwoon's half-empty soju glass away. "I'll order some water for you."

"No" Taekwoon says, mulish, trying to reach for his glass.

"Taekwoon" Hakyeon says, and there's an edge to his voice that makes Taekwoon stop even before Hakyeon's hand closes on the nape of his neck. "Please"

Taekwoon seems to consider for a moment but then exhales shakily and rights himself, posture straight for a moment before he slumps into Hakyeon again, lips pursed and eyes down. 

Hakyeon signals for a waiter and Jaehwan relaxes, taking his chopsticks again and pushing his food around so that it won't look like he'd been paying attention to them.

Hongbin turns to Jaehwan then, asking him a question, and he gladly lets himself be steered into the conversation that Hongbin is having with Sanghyuk.

-

"Hello" Hakyeon says, smile friendly. 

"Hello" Jaehwan says back, shuffling closer to Hongbin, bumping their sides together. Hongbin turns wide eyes at him for a second before engaging Hakyeon in conversation, shuffling on his feet while they wait. 

Hakyeon and Taekwoon, who had arrived together, are wearing identical red beanies, with Taekwoon's hand hooked around Hakyeon's elbow. They look like they came out of one of those street fashion blogs, Taekwoon's tight pants showing off his long legs and Hakyeon managing to make his knitted turtleneck look good. Jaehwan closes his fingers on the hem of his hoodie and tugs it down, hating the way it feels on his skin, tight, the fabric thin with use. 

Sanghyuk arrives just as Hakyeon is about to say something, mouth curling up at the corners as he takes a step closer to Jaehwan.

Jaehwan makes a mental note to buy Sanghyuk a drink sometime soon and starts walking. 

\--

It's already light out when Jaehwan wakes up. He groans against the light hitting his eyes, and hitches his thigh higher against his body pillow, rubbing his face against it too for good measure. It's Saturday, so he doesn't really have to be up early, but he has a standing plan with Hongbin for an early dinner so he won't just laze in bed for the whole day.

He sits up slowly, still holding his pillow, and fumbles with putting his glasses on before reaching for the calendar he keeps on his bedside table. 

"Oh, shit" 

-

Hongbin is already at their usual table when Jaehwan arrives, but Sanghyuk is with him, their heads bent low together over his notebook. 

"Hi"

"Hey, hyung" The two of them chorus, looking up at him, Hongbin's smile brighter than Sanghyuk's, who is still shy around Jaehwan at the weirdest of times. 

Jaehwan sits opposite to them, and opens the menu when they go back to leaning close to each other, their eyes glued on the screen of Sanghyuk's phone. Jaehwan doesn't really need the menu, since he always asks for the same plate, but he feels awkward and unmoored, the way he always is when he's not included in the conversation. His mood i's made worse by the fact that his clothes are tight around his stomach and upper thighs, a consequence of his avoiding to do laundry for too long and being left only with old stuff that doesn't really fit right anymore. 

Jaehwan fidgets, wishing Sanghyuk wasn't sitting in his usual spot against the wall, hating the way his back is turned to the rest of the patrons and how he can feel a sliver of his back getting colder in consequence of being exposed to the cool air as his hoodie rides up when he raises an arm to scratch at the back of his neck.

"Can we order?" He asks at last, when another two minutes have gone past and he's still being ignored by the other two, bored of switching between apps on his phone.

"Oh" Hongbin raises his head again, and then straightens his posture when he seems to absorb the upset shaping Jaehwan's almost-pout. "Actually, we're waiting for Wonshik and Hakyeon."

"What?" Jaehwan asks, louder than he intended to. Sanghyuk twitches up to look at him at that, but Jaehwan focuses on Hongbin, feeling betrayal crawling up his throat. First Sanghyuk, which, okay fine, but now them?

"Sorry" Hongbin says, and he actually does look apologetic. "Hyukkie needed help with something, and he already had plans with Wonshik and Hakyeon-hyung…."

Jaehwan furrows his eyebrows at him and takes his phone out of his pocket, sending Hongbin a string of curses. Hongbin picks up his phone and then looks at Jaehwan, looking a bit pitiful. 

"You could've warned me" He says at last, looking back down at the opened menu. 

"But then you wouldn't come…" Hongbin says, leaning a bit forward.

Jaehwan scoffs but doesn't deny it, pressing himself closer to the wall. Hongbin stares at him for a couple of long seconds before leaning away and back to focusing on Sanghyuk's notebook. Jaehwan goes back to his game and slouches, irritated but too stubborn to leave and make Sanghyuk think of him as whiny or whatever.

He's focused on his game by the time that Wonshik and Hakyeon arrive, and he startles when the scent of Alpha hits him. It's Hakyeon, of course, sitting beside him on the wooden bench and smiling at Jaehwan when their eyes meet.

"Hi!"

Jaehwan sits up straight, suddenly hyper aware of his small clothes and his crooked glasses. 

"Hi" He says back, saying it again when Wonshik greets him. "Where's Taekwoon?" He asks, when Hakyeon continues to look at him, smile still showing his teeth at Jaehwan.

"Oh, he's busy today." Hakyeon says, smile dimming. "But I can give you his number if you want to talk to him!" Hakyeon offers, voice weird.

Jaehwan frowns, "What? Why? No." And then at Hakyeon's furrowed eyebrows "It's nothing, you're just always together."

"Are we?" Hakyeon asks, his eyes still fixed on Jaehwan's face, his tone considering. "Well, I guess that might seem like it to you. But yeah, Taekwoon is with his family today." He keeps his gaze on Jaehwan for a couple of seconds longer, seemingly waiting for a reaction, but then when he doesn't get one he sends Jaehwan one last smile before turning to ask Hongbin something.

Jaehwan uncurls his fingers from where they'd been curled tight around his phone and looks down, taking in a deep breath to brace against the tenseness that an Alpha's focus brings on him, and only looks up when he feels like himself again. 

-

"Don't do that again" He says to Hongbin, when the others are still busy paying for their orders and he and Hongbin are standing to the side after paying for theirs. 

"Look, hyung… I know that you don't like other people but-"

"It's not that I don't like them, it's that I don't like surprises!" Jaehwan hisses, shoulders tensing. "And when other people show up without me knowing, it means that I can't just- talk to you, about… things."

Hongbin squints at him for a second before he seems to get it, and then his whole posture changes, his mouth getting a little slack.

"Oh"

"Yeah" Jaehwan grumbles, shuffling away when Wonshik joins them, wrestling his wallet into his back pocket.

"Sup" Wonshik says, bumping shoulders with Hongbin. "I was wondering if you guys wanted to meet up tomorrow?" He says this in what Jaehwan supposes is his casual voice, but then when he speaks next his tone is completely changed, "I want you to meet my baby."

Jaehwan blinks, taking a step back, and Hongbin actually chokes on air, moving to stand beside Jaehwan. Wonshik's face does something weird, as if he's contemplating rephrasing himself, but then he seems to settle with fixing his eyes with Jaehwan in what the omega can only guess is an effort to ignore Hongbin's reaction.

"Did he say the thing about the dog again?" Hakyeon asks, coming from seemingly nowhere and looping an arm around Wonshik's shoulder.

"What dog?" Hongbin asks, tone so strangled that he has to repeat himself. He snorts, though, when Hakyeon makes a face that speaks of long-suffering through Wonshik's social abilities.

"The dog" Hakyeon replies, seemingly unfazed by the way Wonshik is trying to struggle free of his grip. "The dog that this idiot decided to name Butt" He says, raising his voice to drown out Wonshik's protests.

"Oh… The dog" Jaehwan says, looking at the three of them quickly and then to Sanghyuk, who just arrived and has his eyebrows raised in askance of what caused the strange scene.

"Wonshik invited us to go meet his baby, I mean, his dog" Hongbin says, and then, "His baby dog. Baby doggie. Doggie baby." 

"Oh yeah" Sanghyuk says, like that's a completely normal thing to say. "You should come over tomorrow, hyung keeps pestering me to give the dog attention but I have things to do"

Wonshik finally frees himself from Hakyeon and looks at Hongbin and Jaehwan, expectant.

-

"I don't want to go" Jaehwan says when he opens the door of his apartment.

Hongbin raises an eyebrow at him and crosses his arms. Jaehwan huffs but shuffles back, letting Hongbin inside. 

Hongbin toes his sneakers off and makes a beeline for the couch, where he drops his coat and his messenger bag. "It'll be fun" He says, turning back to Jaehwan and then starting on towards the open door of his bedroom.

"Nothing is fun" Jaehwan grumbles, dragging his feet but following behind Hongbin.

"So did you want to talk about your heat yesterday?" Hongbin asks when Jaehwan stops beside him just a bit past his doorway, eyeing the pile of towels and cushions that Jaehwan has started to accumulate on his bed.

"Yeah" He sighs, avoiding Hongbin's gaze and unable to stop himself from rearranging a towel. "Just let me grab my clothes from the drier" He says, leaving to do just that. 

Hongbin is a bit further into his room, poking at his manga shelf when he gets back. Jaehwan finishes zipping up his hoodie and goes in search of a clean pair of socks inside his closet.

"When is it?" Hongbin asks finally, following Jaehwan out of the room and standing to the side as he collects his wallet and public transport card from the kitchen counter.

"Probably Friday" Jaehwan says, stopping in front of the mirror he keeps close to the door and running a hand through his hair in an attempt to tame it. "I'll tell my boss tomorrow, but I won't be able to meet you Saturday."

Hongbin hums, saying nothing and stepping out of the apartment when Jaehwan opens the door for him.

-

Wonshik's dog is very tiny, very excited, and very cute.

Jaehwan leans down to let it smell his hand, smiling when the dog licks him. 

"It's ugly but cute" Hongbin comments from where he's standing beside him, his voice amused.

Wonshik complains but invites them further inside, calling the dog to follow them. The apartment smells of him and Sanghyuk, their combined beta smell making the back of Jaehwan's throat tingle. 

"Why did you get a dog anyway?" 

"He wanted something interesting to post on his instagram" Sanghyuk answers from where he's sprawled on the couch.

"That's not true" Wonshik says, sitting on the floor and smiling when Butt runs into his lap.

"It's true" Sanghyuk mouths at them, making Hongbin snicker and Jaehwan smile. 

-

Jaehwan has just relaxed enough to slump against the side of the couch when the doorbell rings. His eyes follow Sanghyuk when he stands up, but then refocus on the television where one of his favorite movies is playing, allowing Jaehwan to get engrossed again, and so he startles when he hears two new voices joining them.

Hakyeon and Taekwoon appear then, stopping at the threshold of the living room, and Sanghyuk bypasses them, going back to his spot on the other side of the couch. 

"How mean, starting the movie without us" Hakyeon complains, ruffling Hongbin's hair when he passes by the armchair where he's situated and then kicking at Wonshik where he's sitting at the floor.

"You're always late" Wonshik complains but moves over, sitting closer to Jaehwan's calves, and Hakyeon sends Jaehwan a tiny smile before plopping down to sit beside Wonshik. Taekwoon meets his eyes before looking once more around the room and deciding to sit between Sanghyuk and Jaehwan. 

-

They're on the third movie when Jaehwan feels a warm weight against him and looks to see Taekwoon with his head on his shoulder, his soft hair tickling his neck. Jaehwan freezes, waiting for Taekwoon to say something, or Sanghyuk, but nothing happens aside from Taekwoon's gentle omega scent settling around him. 

Jaehwan doesn't mean to, but he feels all his muscles loosen when it becomes clear that Taekwoon won't move away, the proximity of the other omega placating something in him that he wasn't even aware of was bothering him and keeping him uncomfortable. He ends up falling asleep.

-

Jaehwan wakes up feeling like all of his muscles have cramped and then been loosened. It's the strangest feeling. He frowns before opening his eyes, his contact lenses making his vision blur uncomfortably before he blinks a couple times more. He looks down to where there's a weight on his stomach and finds Taekwoon's head, his face turned towards Jaehwan's belly. Taekwoon is stretched over the couch, the other end of it where Sanghyuk was earlier empty. In fact, the living room is bare but for the two of them, even Wonshik's dog nowhere in sight. 

Jaehwan sighs, readjusting his spine against the couch and then shooting a hand to steady Taekwoon's head when the movement causes his upper body to slide away as if intent on falling off the couch. Jaehwan's heart is still beating fast in anxiety when Taekwoon whines in his sleep, rubbing his nose against Jaehwan's wrist that is supporting his head once before moving closer to him, seeking touch in sleep.

It's weird, but not. Taekwoon is a stranger, still, but he's the only other omega in the house, and for whatever reason they'd been left alone, even though Jaehwan can already start smelling his own pre-heat scent. He shouldn't have fallen asleep. He shouldn't have had allowed Taekwoon to sleep on him either, the memories of the other slumping into him hazy, probably a result from Jaehwan nodding off and then startling awake each time Taekwoon moved closer. 

He sighs and brings his other hand to Taekwoon's shoulder, pulling his wrist free. Taekwoon opens his eyes blearily for a second before humming incoherently and nuzzling his way back into the stretched fabric of Jaehwan's hoodie.

"Hey" Jaehwan says, after Taekwoon has settled against him again. He can feel Taekwoon breathing, faintly. 

"Warm" Taekwoon says back, his voice high, sweet like a child. "Thanks" 

It startles Jaehwan, in a way that he knew he shouldn't let himself be startled - everything about Taekwoon's body speaks of a textbook perfect omega, from his wide hips to his broad chest. It makes perfect sense that he'd be sweet when vulnerable too, that he'd be able to make even Jaehwan melt. Or maybe Jaehwan is just an idiot, touch-starved and unable to say no to his only friend.

He's still spiraling down into his thoughts when Hongbin walks back into the living room. Jaehwan looks at him, the fingers he had loosened around Taekwoon's shoulder tightening again. He feels Taekwoon tense in response, but he doesn't move otherwise. 

"Want to go?" Hongbin asks, coming to stand a couple of feet away from the couch, hands in the pockets of his jeans. 

Jaehwan looks down at Taekwoon, pretends he doesn't see the fluttering eyelashes that betray Taekwoon's pretense of sleep.

"Where did you go?"

Hongbin moves his shoulders, looks back at the hallway he came from. "Sanghyuk wanted to show Wonshik something."

Jaehwan swallows, pressing his lips together in an effort to keep his acid words to himself. "I'll go in a bit. Don't worry about me" He says instead, turning his head away when he sees Hongbin open his mouth to reply. "I'll call you later"

There's a few long seconds where he thinks that Hongbin will say something scathing back, will call him out on his stupid dismissal. They both know that Jaehwan doesn't walk the streets alone at night, not anymore. But Hongbin walks away, and Jaehwan bites the inside of his own cheek until he hears a door closing. 

"You okay?" Taekwoon asks, sitting up but not moving away. Jaehwan misses him instantly. 

"I'm fine" He says, giving Taekwoon a closed lipped smile before standing up and walking out, not giving himself time to think.

-

He walks two blocks alone with his earphones blasting music at maximum volume. Then he caves, ducks inside a 24hr diner and calls for a taxi from his phone, avoiding the waitress and fighting to press the right spots on the screen. When he gets home, 30 minutes later, he's still shaking. 

It's stupid. Pathetic. It's what's he's been reduced to, it's what he let himself become. It's no wonder Hongbin is tired of him, of his whining and clinginess and lack of independence. 

And so for the next week he ignores Hongbin's texts, declines his calls. Turns off his phone after sending a brief text in the group chat that he shares with Junghwan and Seokjin. Jaehwan hangs scent blockers on all the doors of his tiny, dark apartment, locks the door to his room and rolls himself into the messy nest he made on his bed, pulling his blanket on top of it all and hugging a frozen water bottle until he falls asleep. His heat is miserable, like they have been for the past 8 months. 

He cries, in fits that hit him violently, leaving him sobbing hard enough to retch one moment and gazing numbly at nothing minutes later, tears still streaming down his face despite the silence choking its way up his throat. He feels alone, and unwanted, and gross, and overheated, and empty inside. He feels like he deserves all the bad things that he's been told, like all his friends hate him and that it's no wonder.

-

The day after his heat ends, Jaehwan drags himself into the kitchen and grabs the gallon of water that he'd been supposed to take into his room with him. He drinks it in one go, choking and crying again, feeling sick to his stomach and sick of himself, of being an omega and of being alone. 

When he plugs his phone to charge, he closes his eyes and lets it vibrate with the flux of incoming messages until it stops, and then he unlocks the screen to swipe through them.

He sends Junghwan and Seokjin an "im back", presses read on the 57 messages that Hongbin sent him without opening them, and then hesitates when he finds a kakao from an unknown number.

He presses his thumb to it, considers deleting it without opening. The last message sent, at 7, just says "Jaehwan?"

He opens the message a couple of days later, as he's waiting for the omega-exclusive bus that leaves him close to his house. He exhales in relief when the first message reads "hey, it's taekwoon".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading  
> everything has been written so tentative posting schedule is once a week, starting 180417  
> there is a ship-oriented arc to this story but it might shift the focus of the story, so: would you rather have the ship arc start after 6~8 chapters or in a sequel?


	2. Chapter 2

**from: Taekwoon-hyung:**  
_hey, it's taekwoon_  
_hongbin said that you werent answering him_  
_that youre supposed to be in your heat right now_  
_i guess you wont answer if you are_

Then a couple of days later,

_i know its weird but im worried too_  
_if hongbin and u fought i have nothing to do with it so just answer ok?_  
_Jaehwan?_

-

Jaehwan blinks at the messages, steps into the bus when it stops in front of him. He waves at the driver absently, flashing his card to validate his ticket on the turnstile with his eyes still fixed on his phone.

**to: Taekwoon-hyung:**  
_Hey_  
_Sorry i didnt answer_  
_Im ok just got back from work_  
_How did you get my number?_

He's just put his phone back into his pocket when it vibrates again.

 **from: Taekwoon-hyung:**  
_ok_  
_call me tomorrow after work_  
\--

He tells himself that he calls Taekwoon because he's bored and curious, that his fridge back home is empty. It's not a lie, but he calls mostly because he feels lonely. Unsettled by the empty space in his routine where Hongbin used to fit. He knows that the current distance between himself and the beta is his fault, that he overreacted to something that should've been forgivable, not even something worthy of being considered like a slip. But Hongbin had left him alone, with no warning. Left Jaehwan to wake up alone in a strange place. And shouldn't Hongbin know better, anyway, hadn't they been friends for long enough for this sort of shit not to have need of being said? Maybe Hongbin is just tired of Jaehwan and all his crap. 

Whatever.

Jaehwan meets Taekwoon for dinner, and they walk together from the omega-bus bus stop to a small ramen place nearby that has an omega-only sign painted on its door, two burly betas stationed at the door. They look Taekwoon and Jaehwan over quickly before stepping aside to let them in.

The restaurant is bigger inside than it looks from the outside, clean and homely. Most importantly, nothing inside smells either of alpha or beta. There are omega children sitting at a small table situated as far away from the door as possible. Taekwoon and Jaehwan go to sit close to them, as most of the other patrons are, scattered on the tables around the children in a weird half-circle that makes it so that the children are as safe as they can be, with two walls at their back and as far away from any possible threat as possible.

"Do you want to talk?" Taekwoon asks after their plates arrived and he's finished his first glass of juice.

"No" Jaehwan answers, playing with his chopsticks.

"You're keeping yourself safe?" Taekwoon asks, pouring more juice into his glass and topping Jaehwan's nearly untouched one without being asked to.

"I'm not stupid," Jaehwan says, furrowing his brows at the other omega.

"Ok," Taekwoon says like he doesn't believe that Jaehwan is capable of keeping himself safe, but also like he won't push.

Jaehwan can't really appreciate it, because he knows that Taekwoon isn't the one going back to an empty apartment, Taekwoon wasn't the one who spent his heat alone hating himself and his traitorous, inescapable body. As they start eating in earnest, Jaehwan sneaks glances at Taekwoon, trying to measure him somehow, to find out what made the dinner invitation crop up. 

"How did you get my number?" Jaehwan asks, picking up a napkin.

Taekwoon looks up from the bowl of rice in his hands with his cheeks full. Jaehwan raises an eyebrow and waits for him to swallow. 

"Hakyeon got it from Hongbin for me."

"Why?"

Taekwoon takes a sip from his glass and then nudges Jaehwan's towards him. "I'd like to be friends."

Jaehwan purses his lips, biting back another "why". Taekwoon meets his eyes, cheeks lightly flushed, until Jaehwan nods. When Taekwoon smiles at him, lips closed but eyes bunched in happiness, Jaehwan smiles back. 

-

When, a week later, Taekwoon texts asking if Jaehwan would like to go to have dinner at his house, he answers with a _'yes'_.

-

"Hakyeon will be back tomorrow night, but you can stay over if you want," Taekwoon says, closing the door behind Jaehwan. It's a repeat of his text, the one that Jaehwan had replied to with _"no thanks"_.

"Hyung," he says, straightening himself after taking his shoes off at the entryway. "Do you need me to stay?"

Taekwoon meets his eyes quickly and then nods, looking shy. "Please"

"Why?" he asks, trying not to overthink it, trying not to slip back into the thoughts that plagued him when Taekwoon first asked. His uneasiness isn't unfounded, either - Taekwoon lives with an alpha, and who asks someone they barely know to sleep over? Taekwoon, very obviously, isn't hitting on Jaehwan - he hadn't thought to worry about it until Junghwan had pointed it out, but the idea had been so ridiculous that Jaehwan had dismissed it promptly. Why ask, then? 

"I've been alone for a while," Taekwoon says at last, like Jaehwan doesn't know that Hakyeon has been gone for less than a week.

Jaehwan pushes a hand into the pocket of his hoodie, presses his thumb firmly into the shape of the shitty swiss knife that he took earlier before leaving his apartment. When he takes a step forward, Taekwoon doesn't step back, and Jaehwan inhales the other omega's scent, finding only anxiety. He steps back after taking another sniff, meets Taekwoon's eyes, lets his shoulders slump. "Ok, I'll stay. But if anything weird happens I'm leaving."

"Don't worry", Taekwoon says with a smile, obviously relaxing, and tips his head in the direction of the kitchen. 

Jaehwan follows him, allowing himself a few moments further of gripping the swiss knife firmly before taking his hand off his pocket. Whatever is cooking smells amazing, and Jaehwan tells Taekwoon so, letting himself start a meaningless conversation to fill the space between them.

-

Jaehwan lies in the guest bed in the dark for forty minutes before caving in and shuffling meekly into Taekwoon's room, knocking on the open door once and then dragging his feet inside when Taekwoon answers with a quiet "come in".

Taekwoon's phone is a blue beacon of light in the dark of his room, illuminating his face and making his skin freakishly pale. The room smells of him, only.

"Hey," He says, shuffling over to sit close to Taekwoon when the other omega stays quiet. 

"We can watch a movie that isn't as scary next time" Taekwoon offers after what feels like an eternity of Jaehwan picking at the hem of the sleeping shirt that he borrowed from the older omega.

"Or maybe just not watch a horror movie," Jaehwan says back, lightening-quick. 

Taekwoon snorts and folds the covers so that there's enough space for Jaehwan to crawl next to him. Jaehwan makes a face at him at that, but Taekwoon just keeps staring silently until Jaehwan relents and burrows under the covers with him. 

\--

Jaehwan goes to work the next day with a spring in his step. He gets the key to his client's home from his pocket and when he opens the door, it's to step inside with a smile on his face.

"Oh hello," says the old omega lady that has been staring at the tv prior his arrival.

"Hi, auntie" Jaehwan beams, closing the door behind him and trading his outside shoes for the slippers that wait for him, soft pink with a cute bunny pattern. "How are you today?"

"I'm good, thank you." She says, smiling at him when he kneels close to her, offering her wrist when he extends his hand. "You look happy today"

"I am" He answers, after finding her pulse strong and steady. He runs a hand up her arm and to her scent gland just below her jaw just the same, careful not to disturb her clothes. He brings his hand back and sniffs at it before smiling at her. "And you're perfectly healthy, as expected." 

She smiles at him, and he rises to sit beside her, rearranging her pillows before settling in.

The afternoon goes on easily, the auntie one of his favorite clients. They finish watching a show on tv together, and then Jaehwan ropes her into playing cards before he goes to the kitchen to rummage through her fridge and heat up some left-overs. He brings the bowl of soup to the table where he left her, rearranging the pillows against her back once more and sitting close as she eats.

"When you came in, you smelt like another omega" The auntie comments, when he's done with helping her get in bed.

"Yeah, I spent the night at a friend's place" He replies, tucking a lock of gray hair behind her ear and turning on the lamp at her bedside.

"A friend?" The auntie asks, a smirk lingering on the corner of her wrinkled mouth.

"His Alpha was away for whatever reason so we watched a horror movie" Jaehwan replies, unfazed, checking her wrist once more.

The auntie replies with a sleepy grumble, and Jaehwan stands there holding her hand until it becomes lax with sleep in his grip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter won't take as long as this one, sorry. the pov in it won't be jaehwan's but i hope you'll like it anyway. don't forget to check the tags at each update, they are going to be added as needed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please note that the rating has been raised up to mature. the hakyeon/taekwoon tag has a "minor" preceding it and "minor" is what matters most in the tag - neo isn't the main ship or even a side ship, it is a ship about to be decommissioned.

Hakyeon comes back home to find it empty, Taekwoon's - and, surprisingly, Jaehwan's - scent lingering in the living room. He dumps his suitcase in the corner of his room before undressing, trying to convince himself that he's not disappointed by the absence of his housemate. 

**to: Taekwoonie**  
_I'm home_

It had been an emotionally draining extended weekend, and he's glad to be back home, tired of the company of his coworkers. Hakyeon had learned new things at the workshop, has a bunch of papers inside his suitcase proving it, but he can't keep himself from resenting the time that he had had to spend mingling with other alphas and betas. 

**from: Taekwoonie:**  
_welcome back_  
_will be out late dont wait up_

Hakyeon sighs, setting his phone down in order to shower. He'd been secretly hoping to be able to get in some cuddling time with Taekwoon before bed, but now the rest of his night stretches empty before him. He's self-aware enough to recognize that his worsening mood is a result of his rut approaching, of his body craving the skinship that he doesn't partake in anymore. It's selfish, desiring this sort of emotional labor when he and Taekwoon aren't together anymore - dating Taekwoon might've left him spoiled, what with how much time they spent together, sharing scents and in general just touching each other - but that's no excuse for stinking everything up with his upset alpha smell. 

**to: Taekwoonie**  
_Have fun_

Hakyeon wraps himself in his robe and flops down on his bed, wet hair soaking into his pillow. 

**to: Wongeunnie**  
_What are you doing for your rut ?_

He waits for an answer for five minutes, scrolling through instagram, before it comes.

**from: Wongeunnie:**  
_going 2 the facility. U?_

**to: Wongeunnie:**  
_I don't know yet._

**from: Wongeunnie:**  
_what about taekwoon hyung_

**to: Wongeunnie**  
_?_

'What about him?' Hakyeon types, before backspacing. 

_Going to bed. Sleep well_

**from: Wongeunnie:**  
_the fck_

\--

"Hakyeonnie" Taekwoon says when Hakyeon finally opens the door that Taekwoon had been pounding for the last 15 minutes. 

"It's 2 am," He says, scowling but moving aside so that Taekwoon can step inside. Hakyeon closes and locks the door before reaching to steady Taekwoon when it looks like he'll overbalance and topple over while taking off his shoes. "Where were you?" 

"Drinking" Taekwoon replies, straightening himself only to slump against Hakyeon, smelling of soju and beta.

"Alone?"

Taekwoon wraps his arms around Hakyeon's neck, letting himself be dragged into his room. He replies only after Hakyeon has helped him undress. "With Wonshik and one of his weird friends" His nose drags down Hakyeon's throat and he sighs, falling on the bed soon after. 

"You smell of them," Hakyeon says, rubbing at his own cheek with one hand while the other drags a blanket over Taekwoon.

"So fix it" Taekwoon grumbles, making grabby hands at him, the lumps that are his legs under the blanket shifting, opening.

"Not when you're drunk," Hakyeon says, sitting down nonetheless when Taekwoon whines at his answer and then lying down when Taekwoon grabs at his hair.

"Just sleep then," Taekwoon says, dragging Hakyeon closer with one of his longs arms and promptly burying his head below Hakyeon's collarbones when he's close enough.

"You'll regret this in the morning" Hakyeon complains, struggling his way under the blankets anyway and then pulling Taekwoon back against him before he has time to protest the distance.

"Won't" Taekwoon mumbles, nosing at Hakyeon's scent gland, voice slurring with sleep. "Missed you"

Hakyeon waits for Taekwoon's breathing to even out in sleep before replying with a tired "Me too".

-

Taekwoon's alarm wakes both of them at 6 am. 

"Fuck" Taekwoon unwraps his arms from where he'd been trapping Hakyeon against him and stumbles out of bed, kicking at his clothes until he locates his phone.

Hakyeon watches him bend down with sleepy laziness still around him, the night spent drowned in Taekwoon's omega scent making wonders for his previously sour mood and restless energy. His eyes run over the curve of Taekwoon's ass and then linger on the flex of his strong thighs. 

Taekwoon is pretty, still, in his eyes. With his rut approaching, the mindless alpha in him presents as a louder voice on the back of his mind, encouraging him to bring Taekwoon's warm body back in, to ask him to spend their cycles together just once more. 

But it would be unfair. Hakyeon buries his face into Taekwoon's pillow when the other walks out of the room and breathes in deep, tries to will himself back into sleep.

-

In the end, it's Taekwoon who brings it up. Hakyeon is on a break between two classes when he gets the message

**from: Taekwoonie**  
_your rut hits on wed or thurs?_

Hakyeon blinks at it, surprised.

**to: Taekwoonie**  
_Why?_

Taekwoon starts typing, then stops. Hakyeon waits for his answer for the rest of his break, but nothing comes. 

-

Maybe Taekwoon wants to know so that he can go somewhere else, or he brought it up because he wants to remind Hakyeon that they won't spend it together and that Hakyeon has to find a way to fuck off for the upcoming three days of his rut and Taekwoon's heat, their cycles still synchronized. 

They had broken up a week after their last cycle. The heat had been normal as far as those things went, the two of them fucking for hours at a time without stopping interspaced with moments when Hakyeon had enough coherence to get them some sustenance or felt capable enough of bullying Taekwoon into showering or changing their bedsheets. But after the heat was over, they'd been awkward around each other, inexplicably shying away from their routine skinship and not kissing anymore, despite how they used to do it all the time, had the habit of spending hours upon hours making out for no reason.

After four days of uncomfortably trying to figure out what was wrong, Taekwoon had suggested that they spend some time apart. "Take a break, maybe.", he'd suggested, his face carefully impassive. Hakyeon had gazed up at him, unexplainable relief coursing through him, and had suggested that they break up instead.

Taekwoon had said yes and that had been that. 

-

"Let's spend it together" Is what Taekwoon says, as Hakyeon is bent over a pile of tests that he's supposed to hand back in by tomorrow.

Hakyeon screams, turning around so fast that his neck cramps, surprised. "What the fuck!" He says, clutching at his neck, eyes wide.

"Sorry," Taekwoon says, mouth curving at the corners in a repressed smile. "Didn't mean to scare you"

Hakyeon curses him, pushing his chair back and standing up, leaning against his study desk. Taekwoon is still in his outside clothes, his big fuzzy coat open and the collar of his low-necked shirt exposing his pale chest. 

"What did you want?" Hakyeon asks, at last, fighting not to reach out and touch Taekwoon there, where he's warm and unmarred. 

"My heat and your rut hit this week," Taekwoon says, voice flat like Hakyeon is stupid. 

"I'm aware." Hakyeon bites back, straightening his spine. "Do you want me to go? I can schedule a facility…"

Taekwoon steps closer to him, curving his spine a little so that when their eyes meet, Hakyeon doesn't have to look up. It's something that he used to do all the time, back when they were dating, one of the many habits that he developed to make himself feel smaller, to make it easier for Hakyeon to envelop him in his arms and hold all of Taekwoon close to him. 

"I just said that we can spend it together," He says, leaning closer still when Hakyeon's only reaction is to grip the wood behind him, lost for words. "Instead of wasting money on a shitty facility."

"They're not shitty" Hakyeon argues before his mind gets back on track. "And we shouldn't. I don't want to get back together" He says, blunt, eyes searching Taekwoon's face for his reaction, not wanting to see hurt but also not willing to feed into any delusions.

"They are. And we should." Taekwoon wraps his big hands around Hakyeon's wrists, his skin cold and making Hakyeon startle. His hold tightens until Hakyeon relaxes his hands and lets Taekwoon bring them to hang loosely over Taekwoon's shoulders. "And I don't want to, either. But we can just spend a cycle together with no strings attached. People do it all the time."

"It's a bad idea," Hakyeon says with an unmistakable lack of conviction in his tone, fingers finding their way to the hair at the nape of Taekwoon's neck, His nails sink in and then drag down, leaving a trail of pinkness in their wake. Hakyeon relishes in the ensuing shiver that runs through Taekwoon's skin, feels as if a hungry part of himself has just opened its big mouth wide open when he notices the darkening of Taekwoon's eyes.

"Shut up," Taekwoon says, tongue peeking out all wet and tempting, his own eyes dropping to stare at Hakyeon's lips. 

-  
Hakyeon glares at the nest he made in his bed, and then at the rest of his room, which he spent a frantic sleepless night organizing and cleaning, anxious. Everything looks fine, nothing smells weird and his own skin is already beginning to prickle with the warmth of his upcoming rut. And still… Something feels off. 

He's waiting for Taekwoon to get back from the office. The omega had refused to take the day off, had practically bathed himself with scent blocking spray before leaving the house in the morning. Hakyeon had fretted after him, sent him a dozen of texts until Taekwoon threatened to block his number, and then had spent the rest of the morning cleaning the kitchen and making sure that they had fruits and water scattered over the apartment, pushing a bowl into Taekwoon's bedroom quickly and trying not to look inside. 

In the afternoon, Hakyeon had tried to nap the anxiety away, but it had just given him a headache, so he had started watching a movie that he didn't have the patience to finish watching, and then he'd changed clothes a couple of times before cursing at himself and dressing into his usual staying-at-home clothes.

He hears the sound of the front door opening and closing, stares at the door to his room, expectant. Taekwoon pauses when he passes by, eyes appraising first Hakyeon's room and then his undoubtedly frozen expression before his pale face softens.

"Hey."

"Hi," Hakyeon answers, taking a step forward without meaning to.n

"I'll just shower the smell off," Taekwoon says, giving him a sweet smile before disappearing.

Hakyeon stays where he is until he hears the shower start, and then falls into the bed like all his strings have been cut. The off feeling is still there but now overpowered by the part of him that wants Taekwoon and isn't interested in feeling as much as it is in touching. 

When Taekwoon comes back, naked and still wet from his shower, Hakyeon scoots closer to the headboard, opening his arms and turning his head so that his neck is exposed. 

-

For their first orgasm, Taekwoon chokes down Hakyeon's cock and fingers him open with slick that he collects from inside his own wet thighs. When Hakyeon comes, Taekwoon swallows, and then takes his fingers away, leaving Hakyeon empty only for the time it takes for him to press his erection inside, stretching Hakyeon in ways that his fingers hadn't. 

They don't kiss but keep their faces close together, sharing breath, Hakyeon unable to stop himself from moaning whenever Taekwon thrusts in just right. It doesn't last long, Taekwoon worked up from having swallowed Hakyeon's come and Hakyeon already burning up with his rut, his knot aching.

Taekwoon comes inside, and then collapses on top of Hakyeon, his angular face pink and sweat gathering on the hollow of his throat.

Dazedly, Hakyeon brushes hair out of Taekwoon's damp forehead, raises his hips so that Taekwoon slips out and then reaches over, nudges one of Taekwoon's thighs into bending so that he can get his fingers between Taekwoon's asscheeks, pressing in when he finds where Taekwoon is wet and hot.

Taekwoon whines and tries to get Hakyeon's fingers in deeper, bites Hakyeon's chin when he just huffs a laugh against Taekwoon's skin. 

Hakyeon coaxes into Taekwoon riding him and then knots him good and full for the first time that cycle with Taekwoon panting above him, his eyes glassy with heat. 

-

"Come on," Hakyeon says, stepping back from the bed and raising his eyebrows at Taekwoon when he whines and tries to grab Hakyeon again. "We have to eat, Woonie"

Taekwoon flops on the bed dramatically, spreading his thighs open in clear invitation. Hakyeon is determined to ignore him but then he sees his seed running out of Taekwoon and he's doomed. 

-

Taekwoon's phone buzzes angrily, again. Hakyeon looks at it and then back at where Taekwoon is spread on the floor, his legs thrown over Hakyeon's thighs as they wait for his knot to go down.

"Not going to answer?"

"It's just texts" Taekwoon dismisses, stretching his arms and then his back, like a cat. 

Hakyeon gets distracted by the flex of Taekwoon's tummy, but then his phone buzzes again and Hakyeon leans to unplug it from the charger on the power outlet close to the floor. He types in Taekwoons password unapologetically.

**from: Jaehwannie**  
_hyung_  
_let's have dinner together?_

_hey_  
_hyung_

 

"It's Jaehwan," he says, feeling his face flush.

"What?" asks Taekwoon, without opening his eyes.

Hakyeon bites down on his lower lip, considering.

**to: Jaehwannie:**  
_in heat. Rain check?_

Jaehwan answers before Hakyeon can send in another message  


**from: Jaehwannie:**  
_sure sorry bye_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this fic is actually finished and just needs to be edited and posted. chapter 3 (titled: chapter 2 hakyeon version) took a long time coming because it felt wrong so it kept being edited. after weeks of me fruitlessly agonizing over it, a friend that i love dearly told me to just suck it up and post, so here we are.  
> ([here's a bonus unrelated link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_commissioning#Ship_decommissioning))


	4. Chapter 4

**from: Taekwoon-hyung:**  
_in heat. Rain check?_

Jaehwan feels his face flush bright red.  
  
**to: Taekwoon-hyung:**  
_sure sorry bye_

Jaehwan tucks his phone back into his pocket, trying not to think about Taekwoon in heat, replying to him. The mental image is hard to ignore, even more so when he imagines Hakyeon caging Taekwoon in under him, keeping him close and -

"Jaehwan-ah" The beta calls, voice quivering with old age. Jaehwan shakes himself, walking quickly back to the bathroom where he left his client. 

"Are you done?" He asks, stepping closer to where the man is curled over the toilet seat. 

"Yes," The beta replies, avoiding Jaehwan's eyes when he comes over to help him stand up and then opens the faucet of the sink so that he can wash his hands. The older man has just finished washing off the soap from his sun-spotted hands when Jaehwan gets to the sink, pressing flush to the beta so that he can lean his weight against Jaehwan as the younger man washes his own hands and then dries both of their hands with the little green towel that hangs by the door. 

Jaehwan helps the old man walk back to the living room and then settles him on the ergometric armchair that occupies half of the tiny room. It's still 7 pm, and he doesn't have to help the other to bed until 9, so Jaehwan hands him the remote and wanders into the kitchen, checking that there are enough groceries and that the oven is turned off properly. He wanders back into the living room when he's finished, finding the old beta asleep in the chair, snoring softly, and plucks the remote off his hands to lower the volume before going for a round of the house, checking all doors to see if they're locked, if all windows are closed properly. 

And then he has another hour to try to think of everything but Hakyeon and Taekwoon.

-

Jaehwan plugs his dead phone to charge from the USB cord that he plugged into his computer, browsing through some game forums as the device loads for a bit and then vibrates with the messages that went unread while it was just a dead, battery-less husk.

**from:Taekwoon-hyung:**  
_sorry_  
_dinner today?_

The messages are from hours ago, around the time when Jaehwan usually waits for the bus that takes him back home.

**to: Taekwoon-hyung:**  
_phone was dead, sorry hyung. Maybe tomorrow?_

He scrolls through his other chats while he waits for Taekwoon to reply, asking Seokjin and Junghwan about their days, sending his mom a couple of winky-faced and heart-shaped emojis.

**from: Taekwoon-hyung:**  
_i have dinner with hakyeon on wednesdays_  
_so yeah if it's ok with you_

Jaehwan raises a thumb to his mouth, biting it as he considers.

**from: Taekwoon-hyung:**  
_i'll make him behave_

There's typing for a bit, as Jaehwan stares at their chat. And then,

**from: Taekwoon-hyung:**  
_missed you_

It's the last message that makes him reply, the feeling that it makes spread through his chest making him smile to himself.

-

Hakyeon is already there when they arrive, Taekwoon having met with Jaehwan at their usual bus stop. Jaehwan and Taekwoon's arms are still linked from the walk over, and Hakyeon's eyes linger on it before Jaehwan steps away.

"Have you ordered yet?" Taekwoon asks Hakyeon, seemingly not noticing anything.

"No" Hakyeon replies, eyes flicking to Jaehwan's quickly before focusing back on Taekwoon.

"Jaehwan?" Taekwoon asks, and that's his cue to sit beside him, opposite to Hakyeon.

Taekwoon and Jaehwan pour over the menu together, and then Hakyeon waves the waitress over. They order quickly, Jaehwan cursing himself for his order of a burger and fries when the waitress jots it down on her little notepad with raised eyebrows. His face flushes in shame at it, but when he turns back to Hakyeon and Taekwoon, they seem to not have noticed. 

He tries to ignore her reaction, but it sticks to him like a stain, making him curbs his words and so Hakyeon dominates the conversation as Taekwoon focuses on his dinner and Jaehwan pushes the food around on his plate. 

"Is your food bad?" Taekwoon asks, interrupting Hakyeon mid-sentence.

Jaehwan looks up, first at Taekwoon and then at Hakyeon, but all he finds are curious gazes, Hakyeon seeming uncaring of the interruption, of how he was practically being ignored by both omegas. 

"Sorry," Jaehwan says, taking a bite of his burger and wincing when he thinks of how he must look with his cheeks full.

Hakyeon and Taekwoon frown in unison, and Jaehwan has to force his face into impassivity, swallowing food that tastes like ashes in his mouth. 

"For what?" Hakyeon asks, taking his glass in hand and drumming his fingers against it.

"There's nothing to apologize for" Taekwoon follows with, patting Jaehwan on the arm once before going back to his food and nodding at Hakyeon, as if urging him to speak again.

Jaehwan relaxes as Hakyeon starts talking about the kids he teaches again. He hadn't even been aware of Taekwoon paying attention to the story, but now, as he dips his fries in ketchup self-consciously, he can see how Taekwoon's face changes minutely in answer to tales of things the children did or said. 

Jaehwan finishes his dinner quietly, a couple of minutes after Taekwoon, and keeps his eyes on the pattern of the tablecloth until Hakyeon finishes eating. He stands up before Hakyeon can start on another story, and excuses himself with words that he can't remember as he steps outside.

He waits for the bus together with a teen omega who sits close to him under the roof of the bus stop, hating the way he can feel his thighs stretch his jeans, how under his hoodie he can feel the way his shirt is pulled tight around his belly and his arms.

\--

Jaehwan wakes up with a headache. He curses at his alarm and then freezes when his dream rushes back into his consciousness, like a horror movie replaying behind his eyes and filling his head. 

He goes through his morning routine in a daze, skips lunch. When he gets to work, he knows he's not at his best, making his client have to repeat herself when she asks him for things. 

"Sorry," He says, on the third time that happens.

"You're worried" The auntie points unnecessarily, not taking the remote that he offers her. "Did something happen?"

Jaehwan opens his mouth and then closes it. He doesn't know much about the old lady's life before him - he knows she has a beta son that lives across the country, that her grandkids send her emails on special dates that he reads for her on days where she's feeling low or in too much pain to sit on the couch and watch tv. She hadn't talked about her Alpha to him, except for once when he asked her about her bond-bite, and her words hadn't been bitter but he'd been left with the impression that she didn't miss him. With that in mind, he swallows back his shame.

"I had a nightmare. About my ex. Alpha." He starts, and then the whole story seems to pour out of him, horrible and shameful. When he's done, the old lady is looking at him with huge, pity filled eyes, but he can't find it in himself to resent her. 

\--

They had been friends in high school. Jaehwan had sung in an event and after, an upperclassman had approached him with a wide smile, asking him about the song, hooking him into conversation easily. When the older had graduated a couple of years later, Jaehwan had attended the ceremony, had huddled with Gunhee in the dark of his room and drank soju with him until they passed out. Back then he hadn't minded that the other was an alpha - they were friends, and Jaehwan still felt invincible, like all the warnings people gave unmated omegas where just silly superstition from the past. 

After his own graduation ceremony, Gunhee had kissed him, and Jaehwan had opened his mouth to be kissed, had let the older boy crowd him into the wall, had let him bite lightly at his scent gland until they both smelled of omega.

When they started dating, it was to the surprise of no one - Gunhee's parents smiled at them, fond, and Jaehwan resented his own parents for the way they started treating Gunhee coldly, where before his mom used to fawn over him. Feeling bitter at his parents for it, Jaehwan had moved in with Gunhee when he started university, and everything seemed okay. When they went to sleep, Jaehwan felt safe in Gunhee's arms. 

And then, one day, Jaehwan's suppressants had disappeared. 

\--

**from: Hongbin:**  
_You know that if you plan on ignoring me properly you should also stop playing with me_

**to: Hongbin:**  
_im not going to let you fuck with my ranking, hongbin_

**from: Hongbin:**  
_How are you?_

Jaehwan stretches his arms, reaches for another piece of candy. He had responded to Hongbin on autopilot, only remembering that he'd been mad at him after he'd sent his message. 

**to: Hongbin:**  
_will feel better if you apologize_

Hongbin sends back a poop emoji.

They go out for dinner again that Saturday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me: so i wrote this fic w multiple povs in every chapter but as i posted i decided that i like having a single pov for chapter. if i do that, tho, the fic timeline gets all messed up. what do i do?  
> friends 1 & 2: rewrite if you can  
> friend 3: Dostoyevski also wrote with alternating povs on his fics so i think you're good 
> 
> if you're reading this pls help by saying what you'd like to read, your opinion means a lot


End file.
